Scientific Daredevils Thrill Circus Crowds
STUDY the photos above—then stop and realize that every one of these performers is a living demonstration of natural laws of physics, bringing science to the service of the god of entertainment. Nerve is a prime requisite of daredevils like these, but a keen brain capable of analyzing physical laws is even more necessary.
THE MI URBASPORT TRI-MAGNUM: HOME-BUILT EXCITEMENT
By Robert Q. Riley and Dave L. Carey
WITH almost a decade of safety-and energy-conscious cars under our belts, we Americans have learned to accept the econobox theory of automotive engineering. What used to be one of our greatest pleasures—the car—has become a mundane, utilitarian device for economically carrying people and things from place to place.
Conserving fuel is fine. But having fun while doing it is even better.
It’s possible for a car to be fuel efficient and downright exciting. To prove that point, we’ve produced the latest in the MI series of Urba cars, the UrbaSport Tri-Magnum. Tri-Magnum is a direct descendant of the popular three-wheeler, UrbaSport Trimuter, which was featured in MI exactly three years ago. And just like the Trimuter, you build the Tri-Magnum yourself using Mi’s plans. The Tri-Magnum can be built for far less than any store-bought performance car— about $2,000—in your garage.
The name Trimuter came from the fact that the car was a three-wheeled commuter car. It was powered by a 16-hp industrial engine which gave it a top speed of 60 mph and mileage of about 50 mpg. Our new Tri-Magnum, on the other hand, is more like the high-powered magnum pistol, since it can get from 0 to 60 mph in 9.5 seconds and 0 to 100 mph in just over 20 seconds! What gets it there is the 81-hp, 76 Kawasaki KZ900 motorcycle plugged into the rear. And if that’s not hot enough for you, you can use the later-model l,100cc Kawasaki. In fact, any bike from 400cc on up will work. Just choose the one that best meets your personal performance and fuel-economy needs.
The marriage of a motorcycle to the chassis of a three-wheel car is a natural union. There are plenty of used bikes around at a reasonable price (we paid $800 for our ‘76 KZ900); by removing the front-fork and wheel assembly of one of them, you end up with an integral, lightweight power train. It’s also a power train that, pound for pound, is as efficient and powerful as anything made anywhere. We used the plentiful and lightweight VW Beetle front-suspension assembly at the Tri-Magnum’s other end. Ours cost $150 at a local wrecking yard. The motorcycle and the VW front suspension are tied together with a simple steel framework to complete the chassis, which includes the steering, suspension, brakes, power train and all. This package is covered with a sleek, aerodynamic fiberglass body. The result is an all-weather, fully enclosed vehicle that combines the economy of a motorcycle with the safety and stability of an automobile. And the increased weight is nicely offset by the improved aerodynamics.
The styling of Tri-Magnum is both functional and in character with its aggressive performance. Aerodynamics, the cooling requirements of the air-cooled motorcycle engine, accessibility to the cockpit and engine compartment, ease of construction and safety considerations are all integrated into the design. The impact-absorbing foam-filled front bumper, which ties into the frame with a massive steel U-member, is designed to spill air onto the body. Body lines flow smoothly from front to rear where they are sharply broken around the taillight nacelles to create a clean separation point. The rear-facing duct on top of the engine cover and the two shark-gill side louvers are designed to draw hot air out from the engine compartment while cool air is ducted into it from underneath. A small fan mounted just ahead of the engine keeps it cool while idling.
The lift-up canopy, though exotic, is simple, functional and strong. It leaves the main body area integral for maximum strength and, when open, it presents an entirely open cockpit so you don’t have to duck under a low roofline when getting in and out.
The canopy has an internal, laminated steel framework that runs around its perimeter and down the windshield posts. Gaps between the fiberglass canopy and the steel framework are filled with fiberglass to form a solid fiberglass/steel laminate. This fiberglass/steel composite is stronger than either of the materials individually.
Nitrogen cylinders from a Toyota hatchback counterbalance the weight of the canopy so it opens easily; it stays open by itself. The steering wheel moves forward and out of the way, so you simply step in and slither down into the comfortable, form-fitting, space-capsule- style seat. There’s room for two people, side by side. When you’re in, the steering wheel returns and locks in place; then a gentle tug on the nearest nitrogen cylinder lowers the canopy, which latches if you let go of it just before it closes. Inside, the view is panoramic. The windshield begins at the top of your head and extends forward to within a few inches of your feet. The side windows cover even more distance, wrapping around the sides from the base of the windshield to the rear cockpit wall. To improve aerodynamics, all windows are mounted flush with the exterior skin.
The interior has a definite jet-fighter feel to it. The elements are exotic in both look and feel, but they’re not designed for aesthetics alone. They are the natural result of the blending of motorcycle components and systems with the steering and seating of an automobile. For instance, the stick shifter, which looks as though it might have been removed from the nearest F-15 and bolted in place, is nothing more than a cutoff end of the motorcycle handlebar which has been fitted with the stock motorcycle handlebar-mounted switch assemblies and clutch lever. This control stick places all the controls within easy reach at a single location. It also saves money (because there are no extra parts to purchase) and simplifies construction.
Another cost-saving feature is the instrument cluster. The original motorcycle instrument cluster is mounted on a perch atop the steering column. The only new parts required are extra long cables for the tachometer and speedometer, plus a speedometer step-up gearbox and adapter so the speedometer can be driven from the standard VW connection at the left front wheel. Amidst all this there is one new gauge: a cylinder-head temperature gauge mounted on a perch just forward of the stick shifter. The perch also carries the fan switch, fan-on indicator light and the manual choke.
Driving the Tri-Magnum is similar to, yet different from, driving a car and a bike all at the same time. First of all, with the canopy closed there’s a totally encapsulated feeling. The thickly padded, form-fitting seat holds you securely in place. No sliding around or slouching with this design. The throttle and brake pedals are on the floor and the stick shifter/control column is comfortably at your side. The first step is turning on the key switch which lights up the oil-pressure indicator, near the bottom of a vertical light bar between the speedo and tach. The next step is to find Neutral so you can start the engine without having to hold in the clutch lever. The shift lever is spring-loaded to a neutral position. It pivots forward or backward about 1-1/2 inches off center to change gears. To switch to the next lower gear, move the shifter forward then release it to its neutral position. Each time you do this it downshifts one gear. To upshift, pull back on the shifter and release it. After a few pumps of the lever, the neutral-indicator light, a green light at the top of the light bar, comes on.
Pressing the shifter-mounted starter button brings the engine to life with a muffled, mellow purr from the rear. Throttle response is instant. Although the travel of the throttle pedal is a good 4 inches, just a slight movement of it sends the rpms soaring—at least that’s the way it sounds. A glance at the tach shows that these little taps on the throttle are revving the engine to a mere 3,500 rpm. The KZ900 develops its peak horsepower at 8,500 rpm and it’s redlined at 9,000. So what sounds like high rpm is just above idle for this engine. This is something that takes getting used to. If you shift gears according to how you expect the engine to sound, you’ll be lugging it.
Neutral is located between First and Second gears, so to start out, grab the shifter and the clutch lever, squeeze, then push the lever forward. Tri-Magnum lurches as it drops into First. The engine has very little low-rpm torque, so it needs more revs than feel normal as pressure is released on the clutch lever—at least until you get used to the sensitive clutch. Our first few tries either stalled the engine or laid a 20-foot patch of rubber as Tri- Magnum screamed out of the hole. (A lot more fun than stalling the engine.) It takes a few attempts to get the hang of coordinating the throttle and the clutch as you take off from a stop. But if you don’t want to fool around, just floor the throttle and let go of the clutch. The rear tire becomes its own clutch as it spins merrily along for the first 50 feet or so. Shifting gears is easy from there on out. During acceleration all shifts are up, so it’s second nature to squeeze the clutch lever as you grab and pull the shifter. You can do it almost more quickly than you can think it.
Acceleration is so tremendous that until Tri-Magnum hits 20 or 25 mph under full throttle, the rear wheel spins because the engine can produce more power than the single rear wheel can transfer to the ground. Once things get planted, however, the force nails you to the rear wall and keeps you there until you get out of the throttle. It takes only one jerk on the shifter, up to Second, to send Tri-Magnum flying past 50 mph. With each full-throttle shift the rear end floats a bit until it gets fully planted; not badly—just enough to tell you that the rear wheel is going faster than the car.
Although we didn’t try hard cornering at 90 mph, we did slow it down a bit for some sliding turns just to see what happened. Tri-Magnum basically understeers, which is what it’s designed to do. The center of gravity is located low and close to the front wheels in order to provide a large margin of safety against rollover. The trade-off in gaining rollover protection is inherent under-steer, which means Tri-Magnum acts pretty much like your basic Chevy when pushed to the max.
Directional stability is another benefit gained by placing the center of gravity up front. Tri-Magnum stubbornly resists swapping ends no matter how it’s treated. A locked-wheel, sliding stop from 50 mph produces a straight-ahead line of travel with the rear end floating first a little to one side, then a little to the other. Even full-power turns with the rear wheel spinning wildly across the pavement produce nothing more than a little sideways float at the rear.
Corners are taken flat with almost no body roll. This thanks to the stiff stabilizer bar on the VW front end. In our case it’s a necessary item because all the roll stiffness of a three-wheeler must come from the two side-by-side wheels.
Three-wheelers are considered motorcycles by the government, therefore they are required only to meet the legal requirements of a motorcycle. In effect, this means that just about anything with three wheels can be licensed for the streets. A three-wheeler does not have to meet any of the safety requirements of a car. It doesn’t even have to be equipped with bumpers or a windshield, and it can be licensed with only one headlight and one taillight. Our ideas are a little different where safety is concerned. Consequently, we’ve given proper attention to many design features not required by law.
First of all, we think that other drivers should be able to tell where the corners of the car lay, so we’ve designed Tri-Magnum with two headlights and two taillights. We’ve installed a foam-filled front bumper (a design proven to have extremely high impact-absorbing capabilities in safety studies) and tied it into the frame with a large steel supporting structure that is fiberglassed into the body for increased rigidity. The canopy is steel reinforced throughout. Side intrusion protection is increased by leaving the body unbroken by side-door openings. The bulkhead that forms the rear of the cockpit is built up with foam around the perimeter to a thickness of 3 inches, then fiberglassed over. This creates a built-in roll bar and adds even further to the capabilities of the body to withstand a side impact at the passenger compartment. A bump at the rear would be absorbed first by the foam-filled body and then by the wheel located at the rear of the car. Loads transferred to the motorcycle are stopped by the tripod structure that secures the motorcycle at the front. Potential whiplash is eliminated by the thickly padded rear wall of the cockpit which extends upward to the roof, completely protecting the occupants. Finally, there is no dash, so you can’t bump your knees.
Of course, the biggest safety feature is the ability to avoid a collision. Tri-Magnum has plenty of extra power to get you out of a tight situation, and it’s highly maneuver-able with virtually no unusual handling characteristics.
We estimate the cost of building Tri-Magnum at about $2,000, plus the cost of the motorcycle. The motorcycle is not altered except for removing the front-fork and wheel assembly and welding on two small brackets at the lower front of the frame. (Although we can’t imagine why anyone would want to do it, the motorcycle can later be removed from the Tri-Magnum, refitted with accessories and put back on its two wheels.) The cost of a used bike ranges from about $400 for a smaller and older machine, up to about $2,000 for a nearly new, late-model high-powered version. As mentioned earlier, we paid $800 for our 76 KZ900, which had only 17,000 miles on the odometer. It had a couple of broken lights, a dented fuel tank and a broken clutch cable, but was otherwise in excellent condition. The price was about right for what we got and we sold the fork and wheel assembly for $150 to recoup some of the cost.
You can assemble the chassis in about two weekends. It involves cutting and welding steel tubing. The body is basically a fiberglassing project. Figure on about 300 hours, start to finish. The plans, which take you through the whole project, step by step, with photos and drawings, are designed with the assumption that you have never fiber-glassed before, so illustrations and instructions are complete and detailed. The plans also describe the technique for establishing the shape and contour of body panels, so if you want to experiment with styling changes you’ll know how to get the results you’re after. And the result most of us are after is an attractive, personalized vehicle that delivers the mileage and performance we want at a price we can afford.
ROBERT Q. RILEY and DAVE L. CAREY together form Quincy-Lynn, the Arizona-based company that works with MI to develop and produce all the cars in the Urba series.
London to Build Mid-City Air Port
WITH the rapid growth of airplane transportation, the air port of the future may be moved up into the center of the city where it will be easily accessible. A bold step in this direction has been taken by Charles Clever, a London architect, who has constructed a model for a proposed airport to be located in the heart of London. The landing field consists of four runways arranged in the form of a giant wheel, the entire structure being supported by the buildings over which it is erected, as illustrated.
Outboard Motor Powers Bicycle
AT a recent automobile show an outboard motor was shown as a power plant for a bicycle. The motor is attached to the handlebars and delivers its power to the front wheel through a friction drive which operates directly on the tire.
Thrill Makers of Coney Island
By Alfred Albelli
When you take a hair-raising ride on one of Coney Island’s roller coasters, the stunt isn’t really half so dangerous as it seems to you. Mechanical geniuses behind the scenes have built safety devices into these thrill machines so that they’re less dangerous than walking across a busy street.
EACH year from May to September, approximately 60,000,000 persons visit and abandon some of their dollars at Coney Island, the most famous playground of the western world.This peninsula of pleasure, which is barely three miles long, attracts multitudes from all parts of North America. For the greater part of five months it pulsates, thrills, and explodes with fun; then it withdraws into its shell to await the following summer’s awakening and invasion.
Coney Island protrudes from the southeastern tip of Greater New York, jutting into the Bay off Brooklyn. For nearly a half century it has been a spa for those seeking relief from the heat and hustle-bustle of the congested city as well as the resort for out-of-town visitors. During the past twenty-five years its fame has been far-flung due to its variety of attractions, in addition to its lures of the sea.
The average pleasure-seeker at Coney Island, shrieking with delight as he swoops down a steep grade on the roller coaster, to be caught up the next moment and flung toward the sky as the thrill-car starts to climb at break-neck speed, never for a moment dreams of the science and mechanical skill which have been combined to give him his thrill in absolute safety. Yet both skill and science are there in the background, back of the Ferris wheel and the Whip and the merry-go-round and the thousand and one other thrill-makers which lure the dollars from Coney Island’s carnival crowds.
For example, let us pry into the workings of the Thunderbolt, one of the three roller coasters. George Moran, its manager, says that three years ago he installed the Thun- derbolt at a cost of $250,000. Since that time he has carried 750,000 passengers, which, at fifteen cents a head, means it has brought $112,500. “One more season,” says Mr. Moran, “and the Thunderbolt will be mine.”
“The Thunderbolt,” explained Mr. Moran, “is operated on a scale of 25 per cent electricity to 75 per cent of gravity. As you know, gravity costs us nothing.
“In conveying the cars up the inclines we use a link-belt chain, similar to those used in mines. On its first rise, the three cars which form a roller coaster train, go up to an elevation of 75 feet, then drop suddenly at a 57 degree and then pitch up at a 62 degree angle. About this time you feel that the car is going to turn over or be ripped from its moorings, but the engineering de- sign of the roller coaster takes account of natural laws and provides an adequate margin of safety.
“At another point it drops at a 68 degree angle and shoots up an incline of 66 degrees. After that first drop, the roller coaster is carried around the entire route of three-quarters of a mile wholly by gravity. There is no motor-power application. It covers the distance in one minute and seven seconds.
“In the plant we use a 100 horse power motor, which is 50 horsepower more than is required. The plant is located in a shed situated twenty-five feet from the ground in a space within the labyrinth of tracks which go to make up the roller coaster proper.
“Once the train is dispatched on its first drop, there are no brakes which can regulate it, should anything happen along the course.
However, even if so vital a part as its axle were broken, the train is so constructed that it would come home of its own accord.
“Each train has under-friction rollers, consisting of four rollers which hold it down when it has a tendency to rise off the tracks. Then there are four side-friction wheels which take care of the side-friction. And there are four more riding wheels which ride along the upper surface of the track.
“The cars are finally stopped, after their uncontrolled career through space, by a 200-foot friction brake with three levers.
When the brake is thrown on, the friction shoes on each car press down on the long friction-brake. This contact of wrought-iron against steel brings the train to a halt.
“The hazards of riding a roller coaster are negligible. Most of the accidents happen when the rider disobeys rules, and are not due to the construction or operation of the roller coaster. Two mechanics walk the course twice a day, inspecting every link and bolt. City inspectors make a thorough examination once a week, and then the insurance company sends around its men to inspect. Everywhere there are safety contraptions. We make it look far more dangerous than it is. Otherwise you wouldn’t ride it.”
Another mechanical ride which brings the owners a rich harvest each season is the Steeplechase. In this sweepstake there are four wooden horses which race around a course which is supposed to represent hill and dale and the riders imagine themselves as embittered jockeys. Two persons ride each saddle.
At the starting point the horses are released down a mild decline and again they are driven by gravity until they reach a gentle slope of a track. Here they are pulled up for about 25 yards by a system of chains and gears, not unlike the method used in the roller coaster, and then when they reach the top of this first hill, they glide off and downhill on their own again.
The horses are placed on two trolley wheels and it is these wheels which whirl them around the whole course after their first descent. Gravity and the wheels do the rest on the 1/2-mile ride.
There are 65 races run off an hour on this mechanical track. Over 5,000 ride these horses daily. Not more than $5.00 worth of electricity is consumed each day.
On the other hand, Coney Island has become so vast that there is a large electrical plant there and one of the biggest gas works in the country. It is estimated that the pleasure colony’s electric bill each day is $10,000 and that its gas bill is more than $5,000. Next to the labor item, these are the two outstanding costs of upkeep which disturb the proprietor at Coney Island, who is perhaps the only individual in the universe who can mix pleasure and business and make it pay.
Several Sundays during the past summer have seen a population of 1,000,000 persons on the beaches which flank the island. Bo-hind the boardwalk which skirts along the ocean front there are, strange as it may seem, a dozen swimming pools. Here all kinds of diving and raft apparatus are installed to win the swimmer from the ocean’s surf.
In the restaurants one finds none of the elements of a mechanical nature to intrigue the attention. Food is doled out according to the oldest of rituals to the hungry. One food stand alone, however, boasted of selling 100,000 hot dogs during one of the 1,000,000 population Sundays.
But in the matter of games, the inventive mind is more in evidence. They are no longer games of chance, but games of averages. They are for the most part on the level, the owner of a particular stand finding his profit in the law of averages. It is not always that some one wins anything, and often it may be some one he has planted out front to play a number which is consistently lucky. Occasionally, one still hears of the wheel with numbers which revolves until the owner puts his foot on a hidden brake to stop it at his desired number.
The day of the merry-go-round and the flying horses at Coney Island seems to have gone. There is a mournful, lugubrious atmosphere about these carousels which were once the center of the fun-making. Those indulging in these riding revels seem to take to other apparatus. At one merry-go-round the records showed that exactly 500 persons had been on the horses that week.
The Ferris wheel, one of the most ancient of rides, still gets a big play at Coney Island. This weird wheel which revolves slowly, giving the nerve-wracked occupant of a carriage-body contraption a view of the distant as well as proximate panorama, reaches up into the air 125 feet.
Around one rim of the wheel there are teeth of steel which sink into the links of a chain which rotates about two small wheels at the base. The chain turns with these wheels and drives the Ferris wheel around as it carries its teeth along its five-foot course and releases them. Then at the other end new teeth are picked up and carried on. A small motor supplies the power to the two small wheels.
One of the favorite rides is the Scooter, which consists of miniature automobiles. They are operated on an enclosure with a floor of steel plates and a ceiling of screen-wire which supplies electricity to the small auto by means of a rod which extends up from the rear of the car and moves along the screening on a small wheel. These cars are for the most part uncontrollable, despite the existence of the steering gears, and the chief joy is derived from crashing into other cars. There are no casualties because of the thick rubber fenders which protect each car.
The Heyday is a variation of this. The cars revolve about a track and follow a given line of motion, although the optical illusion makes it appear that one car will crash into another any moment. In this case the forward wheels of the car stick to the straight line, while the rear careens madly about on unregulated wheels.
In the Frolic, which is a modification of the merry-go-round, the carriages swing around in a circular course on a pivot. There are springs and depressions in the track which control the rise and fall of the carriage and its swaying. The airplanes which whirl around on rods which are suspended from motor-driven bars follow the same principles. In all these devices, which are the most popular attractions at Coney, one perceives that thrill is supplied with absolute safety.
The element of surprise, mingled with mechanical co-operation, proves a good drawing-card. The crazy-house fits into this class. There are several of them, but the most conspicuous one is Noah’s Ark on the boardwalk. Here one finds sliding stairs which slip from under you if you don’t watch out. You grab a rail to keep from falling and you get a shock. Some one has sent a few volts through the rail.
There are dark corners out of which a sheet will sweep. Some one screams that there are spooks. You try to run back and find that you have just traversed a turnstile which works only one way. Mirrors distort your face and body into monstrous shapes. Then there is a high, smooth slide which winds you up in a pit.
All along the route in the crazy house there are little holes in the floor through which air is suddenly gushed, raising havoc with your skirt if you are a woman. A man concealed in a lofty perch controls these air-holes just as he does the electricity which shoots through the rails.
A psychological commentary may be gleaned from the observations of the owner of the Noah’s Ark crazy-house. “Although many young people and women are filled with horror and scream with fright on their first visit through the place, they are always anxious to repeat the journey once they are safe in the open again. Two old-maidish dames once went through the place 48 times, actually. They must have liked that slide, I guess.”
Everything conceivable in the amusement world may be found at Coney. Its governors have overlooked nothing with appeal in this prodigious enterprise which depends for profit on the public’s palate for pleasure. They make it plain that there is room for many more mechanical devices. The multitudes are always seeking new thrills, in keeping with the laws of human nature. What they want and are always seeking is something which is a product of this fertile machine age, something gorgeous and thrilling.
The Coney Island Chamber of Commerce, an association which cautiously guards the destinies of the business men along the $1,000,000 boardwalk, estimates that the total earnings of its members during the five-month season amount to nearly $60,000,-000, striking up an average of $1.00 for each individual which crosses its circumference during the summer.
As a vast business enterprise founded on fun, Coney Island should not make a bad showing in Bradstreets. Its pleasures afford fat dividends. One might be amazed to learn that its earnings compare favorably with those of the United States Steel Corporation, one of the foremost industries in America. For the first five months of 1930, United States Steel grossed a little over $60,000,000.
Those carrots look a lot like the balloons you use to make balloon animals out of.
Condon’s New Early Coreless Carrot
Contains healthful vitamins. Thrives everywhere. Gardeners say finest carrot cultivated. Returns off $700 per acre reported. To Introduce this fine vegetable and our Superior Pure Bred Seeds and Plants we will mail you 125 Seeds and Our Big 1937 Illustrated Catalog FREE.
Send 3c stamp to cover postage.
CONDON BROS., SEEDSMEN BOX 190 ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS
LAUGH AT “OLD MAN WINTER”
Protect your health with Indera Figurfit (Coldpruf) Knit Slips. Laugh at winter’s cold in style and comfort.
Knit by a special process, these slips lie smooth and close-fitting beneath most dainty frocks without bunching or crawling of skirt. They keep warmth in and cold out.
Beautiful colors, easy to launder, no ironing necessary. Exclusive STA-UP shoulder straps.
Insist upon Indera Slips for best prices and highest quality.
Choice of cotton, wool mixtures, rayon and wool, 100% wool worsted, silk and worsted. Sizes for women, misses and children.
Write for FREE descriptive style catalog No. 4.
INDERA MILLS COMPANY
WINSTON-SALEM. N.C., U.S.A.
Cat Mothers White Mice
“PATSY,” pet cat of Miss Madge Mahoney, of Brooklyn, must have read all about the peace talk in Washington and decided to take it to heart, for she has put aside all her feline hatred of her age-old enemies, rats, and is mothering four white rodents as if they were her kittens. At the left we see her having a meal of milk with her foster children without any hard feelings whatever.
Making Your Money Last Longer
By Will Bradford
USING newly perfected methods of paper manufacture, Uncle Sam has increased the life-span of the average dollar bill fully three times! This article takes you behind the scenes of the world’s greatest money factory.
INCREASING the life of the dollar bill is the latest achievement of the U. S. Treasury, a feat which has involved several years of research and which has resulted in the perfection of grease-proof, oil-resistant, wear-worthy currency which will last longer than any ever previously produced.
The advent and popularization of the automobile, strange to say, increased the wear and tear to which dollar bills were exposed so that their life was shortened one-half. The remarkable prosperity of these United States has also increased the ordinary use of paper currency. Before the automobile, our one dollar greenbacks and silver currency were serviceable for 12 months’ use. The full moon of the motor age cut this life cycle in half.
Motorists carry much more cash than our former buggy and coach-users. Their wallets are filled with emergency paper money for paying for gas, oil, auto repairs and traffic fines. The money used by the motorists and service stations is exposed to grease, grime, oily hands and dirty pockets. Grease is one of the particular foes of paper currency.
New Money for Old Matters went from bad to worse. The point was reached where Uncle Sam had to replace 1,200 tons of old money with new annually, a total of about $4,000,000,000. The facilities of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing were taxed to capacity. National money makers worked night and day striving to keep ahead of paper currency needs.
Uncle Sam assigned to his reliable research scientists the task of determining how best to armor and reinforce paper money so that its period in circulation might be increased one or two months or more. The paper experts began at the very beginning by checking up on the methods of manufacture employed in making the safety paper used in currency production. They devised machines to test the wearing qualities of currency. A dollar bill folding device was invented, which subjected dollar bills to foldings and creasings such as they would suffer in your pocketbook, or mine. The average dollar bill wore through when subjected to 2,000 such foldings.
The paper used for currency is made of a mixture of three parts cotton and one part linen rags of the best quality. Thorough tests brought to light the fact that this paper was exposed to too much “beating” in the production process so that its fibers were weakened. By decreasing this “beating,” a better paper was produced which would withstand 6,000 test foldings. This scientific investigation resulted in the output of a safety paper three times as strong as that used originally.
Protected From Grease A great variety of chemicals were then tested for the treatment of the safety paper so that it would be better qualified to withstand the damaging effects of greasy hands and oily pockets, wallets and cash registers. A certain formaldehyde solution was finally developed which when sprayed over the paper currency protected it against grease and grime.
Tests were also made of the tensile strength, bursting strength, tear-ability, thickness, opacity and inking qualities of the new safety paper to see that it was satisfactory. A number of test batches of the paper were made in the miniature Government paper mill. Eventually, paper currency of the smaller denominations was made and circulated in test amounts. It demonstrated conclusively that it was 50 per cent stronger and longer-wearing than the paper money formerly used. Its current use has decreased the strain on Uncle Sam’s paper money plant at Washington.
The scientists delegated to experiment with the unsatisfactory paper money also discovered more profitable uses for redeemed currency. Some 40 carloads, equivalent to 1,450 tons of worn out paper money, are returned to the Treasury annually from all parts of the United States. Uncle Sam exchanges new money for old, replacing each dilapitated, ragged dollar bill with a crackling, spotless greenback of similar denomination.
Greenbacks for Souvenirs!
Redeemed currency is dumped into a battery of 10 macerators which chew it into mincemeat form. The macerated money is then converted into paper pulp and sold commercially for the manufacture of coarse cardboard, fibre board, shoe counters and similar materials. Souvenirs such as statuettes of the Washington Monument are also made from money mincemeat and sold to tourists. The money is de-inked and mutilated so completely that it cannot be used for illegal purposes. For many years the Government has lost money on its paper currency redemption.
The investigators found that by dusting and cleaning the macerated money more carefully, they could produce a paper pulp of better quality suitable for the manufacture of fine grade writing and printing paper. Milady now uses monogrammed stationery made from worn out greenbacks and yellowbacks. The paper money which you spend thus may come home again in a new and revised form so that you don’t recognize it. The U. S. Government will henceforth realize a good net profit from paper currency redemption.
The last and most important step in the improvement of our paper money results from the Treasury Department’s decision to reduce the size of our dollar bills to smaller dimensions. Our present paper currency is of standard 7-7/16 by 3-1/8 inches dimensions. The new dollar bills, to be circulated first in 1929, will be one-third smaller, with dimenions of 6-1/8 by 2-5/8 inches.
Cutting the size of our most popular denominations of paper money will result in enormous savings in ink and paper, and will increase the storage space in the U. S. treasury and federal reserve banks one-third. The new bills will be easier to handle, much more durable and more difficult to counterfeit successfully. The same cash registers and money counting machines now in use can be employed efficiently in handling the new size silver certificates. Later, greenbacks of the other popular denominations will also be made in reduced dimensions. It will take five years to replace the old paper currency with new.
Money Factory Remodeled The jump from the manufacture of one size of money to another has necessitated vital equipment changes at the Government’s paper money factory. Old presses have required complete remodelling and new presses have been built on special contracts. Copper plates of the new silver certificates have been made by the national engravers, the most skilled craftsmen of their trade in the world. This task in itself is colossal, for it takes seven engravers 4-1/2 months to produce one of these valuable money plates. Many different engravers work on each plate to contribute individual touches and to increase the difficulties of counterfeiting such plates.
The new pesos size one dollar bills will bear the likeness of George Washington on their faces. This picture is one of the finest pieces of plate printing ever performed. It is wholly impossible to counterfeit! this silver certificate so that Government specialists cannot detect the fraud. If you will examine one of these new dollar bills carefully, you will notice how the picture of Washington stands out and looks as though that distinguished soldier and statesman was going to step from the paper to greet you. All photographic attempts to counterfeit that picture have failed because the reproductions invariably appear flat and are easy to detect. The future small size two dollar bills will bear the photograph of Thomas Jefferson, the fives will carry the likeness of Abraham Lincoln, while the tens will reproduce the features of Theodore Roosevelt.
Uncle Sam’s present paper currency system is the most complicated in the world for it consists of five national currencies and 39 different types of paper money. Only financial experts, bankers and money specialists can readily identify all varieties on sight. The average layman knows the bills only by the figures indicating their purchasing power. To unscramble this paper money puzzle is another purpose of Uncle Sam in the reforms which he will institute. Originally we had available five different varieties of one dollar bills. Under the new plan, we will have available for spending purposes only one style of one dollar bill, the silver certificate. The $2 and $5 bills will be similarly standardized when produced in reduced sizes. Our 39 money varieties will be reduced ultimately to 11.
Inventor Makes Propeller-Driven Tricycle
A THREE-WHEELED vehicle constructed of airplane parts and powered by a two-cylinder motor and small propeller has been designed by John Dacy, a young inventor of Zion City, Ill.
The rear part of the machine consists of an airplane landing gear on which is mounted the motor and propeller. In front of this is the pilot’s seat, suspended from a frame of steel tubing. The lone front wheel is connected by chain and wire to the steering apparatus.
The propeller develops tremendous pushing power and gives the machine such high speed that its owner has no fear of traffic officers.
Police Inaugurate Two-Way Radio
THE first two-way police radio equipment in the United States is now in operation at Piedmont, a fashionable suburb of Oakland, California. Permission for this efficient new form of communication between police officers in the field and headquarters has been granted by the federal radio commission.
The central control operates on 15 watts power and the squad cars on two watts power. The station set works directly from the electric light circuit. Power for automobile transmitting sets is secured from the storage battery.
The auto sets are compact, weighing only 25 pounds. The receiving sets are not unlike the ordinary automobile radios.
Walking on Wheels is the Latest European Sport
THE newest aid to the pedestrian is the “paticycle,” invented by a Frenchman as an easy and inexpensive means of getting from here to there. The device consists of wheels attached to the walker’s feet and legs by means of braces. It is operated by swinging the legs forward as if walking on the ground, but the feet never touch the road. A staff is carried in each hand to steady the walker and help him steer a straight course.
A paticycle race was recently run from Versailles to Paris. Charles Samuel, the winner, is shown crossing the finishing line.
Most Scientific Fiction Can’t Come True
by WILLIAM J. HARRIS
You’ve probably read scores of so-called scientific fiction stories, but the chances are you don’t know why most of these tales can’t possibly come true. Mr. Harris sets forth here the scientific objections to fantastic projects such as transporting a human being by radio and rocketing to Mars.
ONE of the leading lights of the pseudo-scientific fiction writing school recently produced a story in which his characters used a marvelous German-built airship to reach an imaginary world in the imaginary hollow center of the earth. The airship was unusual because it contained a vacuum instead of gas, and was built of a mysterious metal so strong it could withstand the enormous air pressure on the outside.Another entertaining writer of the same ilk followed with a yarn in which people were reduced to radio energy, transported through space by wireless, and instantaneously reassembled at the other end, minus metal fillings of their teeth and any other metal they might have had on their persons.
The writer who transported his characters through the air by radio ignored the power factor, for he had his villain using a portable outfit run by a small gasoline driven generator.
The reduction of a human body to electrical energy and a wireless wave presents a pretty problem. Presumably the body would turn into a wide variety of metals and gases before it could be converted into electrical energy, and at the other end would have to go through a similar process to be reassembled. The hypothesis stated by Prout in 1815 that all elements are aggregates of hydrogen is abundantly borne out by the modern atomic theory, which holds that the atom of any element is a positively charged nucleus surrounded by varying numbers of negatively charged electrons.
Experimenters in Germany and in New York in recent years have tried to convert lead into gold by knocking off the extra electrons, and there is reason to believe that that can be done, if sufficient power could be obtained. But the power consumed would be so great that the gold obtained would be the most valuable substance ever dreamed of, for its price would run into hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars an ounce.
In theory, though, each of the 92 elements in the atomic table could be reduced eventually to hydrogen, the lightest of all, by successively changing the atomic structure through removing the excess atoms, and, going a step further, it might be possible to reduce the basic hydrogen atom to electrical energy by dissolving the hold which its nucleus has on its surrounding electrons. But if such a process were possible and the power to accomplish it were available, then the carbon in one’s body, for example, would first turn into boron, and then successively to beryllium, lithium, helium and hydrogen, while the trace of iodine in the human frame, being No. 53 in the atomic table, would have to go through that many steps before it was reduced to the common denominator. And in the process it would become in turn many rare and wonderful things, including krypton, antimony, argon, arsenic, cadmium, gallium, manganese, molybdenum, rhodium, and even silver.
Fortunately the writing of tales of imaginary science doesn’t require that the adept stick even to plausible facts, but sometimes the writers in this school of entertainment go to unnecessary pains in inventing startling ideas that are but little better than ordinary truth.
The wonderful vacuum airship, for example, would be so little better than an ordinary gas-filled fabric-covered zeppelin that if the metal hull weighed but 20,000 pounds more than a fabric bag the two would have equal lift—assuming both ships to be of approximately 2,000,000 cubic foot capacity. And the metal vacuum ship, besides being light enough to lift its load, would have to be strong enough to withstand an outside air pressure, at sea level, of something in the neighborhood of 80,000 tons.
The exact air pressure load, of course, would depend on its shape. The longer and slimmer the cigar shaped body was, the more surface would be exposed to air pressure. But for a simple calculation on air pressure on a vacuum container consider a spherical body, as a globe has the least possible surface area for any given cubical content.
A sphere of 150 feet diameter would have a content of 1,766,250 cubic feet, which is near enough to the 2,000,000 foot capacity of an average size zeppelin. As air weighs about 80 pounds per thousand cubic feet at sea level density, and a vacuum weighs nothing, 1,766,250 cubic feet would have a lifting force of 70.65 tons. Therefore the metal sphere, the cabins, food, fuel and pay load could not exceed that weight, if it were to get off the ground at sea level, and would have to be many tons lighter to rise to any height.
But a 150 foot sphere has a surface area of 70,650 square feet, on which there would be, at sea level, an air pressure of around 15 pounds to the square inch, or a total pressure, which the extremely thin metal wall would have to withstand, of 152,613,000 pounds, in other words 76,306.5 tons.
And after inventing a metal light enough to fly but strong enough to withstand such a pressure, the airship would have a lifting force only 17,660 pounds, or less than nine tons, better than a hydrogen filled balloon of the same size!
That enormous air pressure which rests on every square inch of everything on earth, and which we so easily forget because it is equalized inside our bodies, and therefore we do not feel it, is one of the scientific facts which pseudo-scientific writers so conveniently forget or ignore.
Inter-planetary vehicles dart back and forth between the earth and Venus, Mars and the Moon in the pages of all the magazines printing this sort of fiction. They make tremendous speed and cut voyages of millions of miles to a few hours or days because, as their writers point out, outer space is presumably a vacuum in which there is no wind resistance to their passage.
But if the outer space is a vacuum, then the air pressure within the vehicle must be maintained at ground density to enable the occupants to live, and so the problem of the vacuum airship is simply reversed. Instead of having 15 pounds to the square inch on the outside trying to crush the hull inward, we have 15 pounds to the square inch on the inside trying to blow it outward. Of the two problems the vacuum airship really presents the lesser obstacle, for a spherical metal hull will stand more compression from external pressure than it will expansion from internal strains. That’s why compression members in steel buildings and bridges present less of a problem than suspension bridge cables, which are under an expanding strain.
Of course, given sufficient power to shoot a man-carrying rocket into space, it is possible to provide sufficient power to move a vehicle with walls thick enough to withstand the strain. In all of the fiction, as well as the actual attempts to build space-traveling rockets, the presence of that power is assumed.
Another favorite field of the scientific fictioneer is inter-planetary communication by wireless with the imaginary residents of Venus, Mars, or the Moon, for even the total absence of air and water on the moon have not prevented fiction writers from peopling it with human as well as animal life.
Communication with the planets in fact has not stopped with fiction, for a man in London a year or so ago spent several weeks trying to establish contact by radio with Mars. At the same time he was breaking into the newspapers with his experiment, the British government was quietly carrying out experiments to prove that the so-called “Heaviside layer” of ionized air high over the earth—a layer named for the famous mathematician who first predicted its presence—actually deflects radio signals back to earth, and therefore explains the action of short wave signals in spanning enormous distances.
The result of that experimentation was announced just a few days ago, with conclusive proof that the ionized layer does exist at a height of about 80 kilometers, and does reflect radio signals back to earth.
While the British experiments were made solely to develop the understanding and improve the processes of world-wide communication, the result throws considerable doubt on the possibility of ever establishing communication if some intelligent form of life does exist on one of the other planets. With at least a large part of each radio signal being reflected back by a seemingly impassable or almost impassable layer of ionized air, the prospect of forcing a signal through into outer space seems negligible.
The time element and its effect on radio signals and their strength also is ignored by the writers who play with the idea of wireless to the planets. The longest distance a radio signal ever has traveled between transmitter and receiver was spanned in a minor fraction of a second, for the farthest such a signal can be sent and actually received would be around the earth, a distance of not more than 25,000 miles, which is a mere hop, skip and a jump for a radio wave traveling 186,000 miles a second, or at the speed of light. Compare that to the many seconds, or minutes, that even radio would require to span the enormous jump to one of the planets, and consider the energy required to make such a trip!
The possibility of producing sufficient power on earth to equal that given out by a star as big as the sun is so remote as to be beyond consideration, yet there is evidence that it might take power on such a scale to penetrate space with any form of signal.
Yet with all their weird and wonderful imaginings, the scientific fiction writers have left a whole field of things untouched. Astronomy offers possibilities beyond anything they have yet utilized. The mean density of the bright star Capella is about the same as pure air, so one could live at the center of it, if it wasn’t for the temperature of a few million degrees and an atmosphere composed of flying electrons. Or the faint companion star of Sirius, the dog star, has a density so great that it weighs around one ton to the cubic inch, and a pebble dropped on an imaginary inhabitant would be fatal, and a grain of sand would be a lethal weapon! If that isn’t enough van Maanen discovered a star whose spectrum indicates a relatively high surface temperature, a mass about one-seventh that of our sun, while the diameter is about that of our earth. That figures out to a corresponding density 400,000 times that of water, or a weight of seven tons to the cubic inch.
Astronomers Discover New Planet Out Beyond Neptune
The recently discovered planet, already named Pluto, is judged to be the same size as the earth.
The late Percival Lowell, shown above, predicted the planet’s discovery 25 years ago. The picture of the planet was obtained with a 24-inch reflector and is from a 30-times enlargement of the plate. It was taken by Prof. George Van Biesbroeck of Yerkes Observatory at Williams Bay, Wisc. The bright glow on the plate is the near-by star, Delta Geminorum.
Dilemma for Vegetarians
THERE is no real difference between animals and plants, according to Professor Gottlieb Haberlandt, of Berlin. The conventional tests that only animals breathe and that only plants live on mineral food may apply to the majority of plants and animals, but there are many exceptions.
There are numerous plants which do not draw their nourishment from the soil, but must live like animals on vegetable or animal matter. On the other hand, there are certain lowly animals which apparently can draw nutriment from inorganic salts and solutions as is done by some plant roots.
Garage ‘Without WALLS for Car Parking
A TYPE of garage built on entirely new lines has been designed and patented by Samuel Eliot, a real estate operator and building manager of Boston, Mass. Known as a “cage garage,” it is an open-air parking space stepped up three or four stories, with no side-walls or windows, no heat, no elevators or electric lighting. It has a low stud of eight feet, staggered floors and a twenty per cent pitch double ramp that takes up the space of only two cars. The construction is of reinforced concrete, and the inventor says that such buildings can be constructed at the low cost of ten cents a cubic foot, and can accommodate as many as 800 cars easily.
It is estimated that such garages will be able to earn five times the amount earned by the more expensive types of public garages. The cars are run up the ramps under their own power and parked as on an ordinary open lot, with room to run them out when wanted. The buildings are strictly fireproof and are easier of access to fire apparatus than the expensive enclosed public garages.
A company is being formed to build these garages throughout the country. The plan is to lease ground space near the business districts of large cities.
HOW an Artists’ Model Keeps Her Beauty
The Self-Told Story of a Famous Representative of the Profession Whose Life Is in Many Ways a Model for Other Women
By Grace Bowen
THE life of an artists’ model! I am going to tell you the truth about it.
I suppose that most people get their ideas of artists’ models from highly imaginative moving-picture stories in which the artists are likely to be more or less fantastic people living a gay social life, and the models are man-hunting vamps who divide their time between night-life in the cabarets and intimate “teas” in luxurious studios.
If that happens to be your own notion of artists and studios, then my little story will probably be an eye-opener. What seems curious to me is not that people get such an impression from what they see and hear, but that dramatists, story writers and even newspaper feature writers, who ought to know better, and who really do know better, should write the kind of silly stories that tend to give the public such an impression.The fact is that artists are not “different.” They are just ordinary people, who work hard and dress and look like business men. And artists’ models are just hardworking girls who happened to get into modeling partly because they are interested in things artistic and beautiful.
If my story is of especial interest it is not because [ am different from other models but because I am very much like the other young women in my profession.
It is a business in which night life, far from being part of the program, is completely out. Models must keep fit. They must keep their beauty. Business women, office workers, school teachers and others may go in for right life, but not artists’ models. We must keep our beauty and in this story I am going to tell you how I do it.
Hard work. Exercise. Clean living. But that does not mean that I do not have a good time. The truth is that I am a very happy girl. I am happy because I enjoy good health and because I love my work. I believe that one gets out of life only what one puts into it. In my business I meet wonderful people, artists, musicians, writers—all creating beauty in one form or another, and so life is deeply satisfying. It is easy to surround myself with beautiful dreams. I expect always to be happy because I have laid solid foundations— I have a wholesome outlook on life and beautiful ideals.
As a child, I used to dream of the big city and the famous folks who lived there, and to plan for myself a glorious future. My ambitions assumed definite shape as I grew older, until finally I packed up and left for New York.
I had been told that I was beautiful. I was sure that I would secure a fine position as soon as I arrived in New York. But I found that I was only one of thousands of young girls there for the very same reason that I was—they all wanted fame and fortune. I decided that I would have to take any work at all. So I accepted a position in a department store.
I found many temptations in the big city, but I made up my mind that I was one girl that it would not break. Finally I got a chance to be a mannequin in one of the most exclusive salons in New York, and I was very happy. Often when artists would come to the store from the different fashion magazines, they would want me to pose in the gowns for them, and many of them told me that I should be an artists’ model. But 1 did not take them seriously.
Soon, however, I drifted to Broadway and obtained work with one of the biggest producers. My part was that of a draped model in two scenes. But stage life was very hard, and as I was neither a singer nor dancer, I realized that I was simply in the show to be looked at, and I knew that that would not lead to much of a career. However, the fact that artists had sketched me in the fashion salons and that I had been a model on the stage, encouraged me to think that I would make a good artists’ model.
I FIRST saw F. R. Gruger, the well-known illustrator. He engaged me for the next day and then sent me to other artists whom he was sure would be glad to use my services. Among these were Henry Raleigh, John La Gatta and James Montgomery Flagg. In a little less than three years I have posed for nearly two hundred of the most prominent artists and sculptors. I have been given sketches of myself by many of these artist and I prize them above all my other possessions.
I have posed for thousands of pictures. I have been a Spanish dancer, Southern miss, the young heroine in love, a Western cowgirl, horse-woman, young mother, debutante, flapper, fashion plate, coquette, bride and princess. I have posed for advertisements of hair, hands, skin, teeth, eyelashes, finger-nails, and figure.
I have had my picture on many magazine rovers and in the illustrations for stories inside of them. My pictures have been in subways, street cars, elevated cars, billboards, on posters and candy boxes and many fashion illustrations. I have also posed for mural decorations for large buildings, and for statues, fountains, lights and decorative pieces for the academies and art galleries.
Sometimes I pose for three artists in one day and barely have time between appointments to eat luncheon. It is sometimes necessary to pose on Sundays for a picture that must be finished by Monday. Last Sunday I posed for five figure studies. This is unusual for, as a rule, an artist does not work so fast. We did not stop for luncheon until 5.30 P.M. One needs a strong constitution for such work.
Posing for sculptors is even more strenuous because there are many sides to do on a statue, whereas an artist paints only the one view. It is also more difficult to hold the pose, for sculptors usually want active poses. Not infrequently I am required to stand on one foot with arms outstretched and the body bent either forward or backward. But it is worth all the hard work to see yourself immortalized in bronze.
IT IS not at all unusual for me to stand in one position for at least an hour without moving a single muscle. Only recently I posed for a painting called “Autumn.” The pose was kneeling with all my weight on my ankles. I held it until my legs and feet were absolutely numb and then when I wanted to rest, the artist and his wife had to lift me from the model stand, because I simply could not rise. I realized, however, that a beautiful picture was being created, so that helped me to keep on.
Sometimes when I am going to a studio to pose for the evening, I meet the crowds on their way to the theater or the opera. A little catch comes in my throat and I sort of feel that I would like to play too.
Put only for a moment. T then realize that T am doing big things now, and must work instead of play if I would succeed. After all, only hard work can bring contentment. Sometimes I go to a studio expecting to finish about 10.30 P.M., but at that time the picture is not finished and the artist will plead with me to help a while longer. Sometimes it will be one or two o’clock before I can go home.
I have posed in the nude in studios which were extremely cold, and if 1 were not in perfect condition I could not do it. I have gone from a warm studio where I posed fully clothed to a cold one where the pose was a nude. And naturally, as I often pose for as many as three or four artists in one day, it is necessary for me to be out in all kinds of weather.
So you see, posing is strenuous work. To work so hard and regularly, a girl must have a strong mind and body and must lead a sane, moderate life. She could not stay up most of the night and then expect to look fresh and beautiful enough the next morning to be an inspiration to an artist. A model must live even more regularly than girls in other professions because her very existence depends upon her looks and her ability to suggest perfect womanhood.
As I must stand for as many as eight and nine hours at a time, I wear shoes that are large for me, as this keeps my feet from swelling.
I am 5 feet 8 inches tall; weigh 135 pounds; chest (normal) 33; chest (expanded) 36; waist 24; hips 36; shoulders 36; arm 10-1/2; thigh 22; calf 13-1/2; ankle 8; neck 13-1/2. I have long blonde hair, blue-gray eyes and fair complexion.
The ideal measurements from the artist’s or sculptor’s point of view are:
1. Your forehead and nose should be the same length.
2. The distance from the bridge of your nose to its end should be the same as the distance from the end of your nose to your chin.
3. Your whole body should be from seven and a half to eight times as long as your head.
4. The distance from the top of your head to your natural waistline should he equal to three times the length of your head.
5. The distance from your waistline to your knee should equal three times the length of your head.
6. From your knee to your heel should equal twice the length of your head.
7. Your shoulders and hips should he the same width.
8. Your head should correspond in general contour to your body (slender, rotund, etc.).
I have never worn a brassiere or corset. I feel no need of either because I let natural exercise keep my figure in trim and I do not believe in squeezing the figure in order to obtain a certain contour.
This constriction is both harmful and against all the laws of nature. Proper breathing is vital to good health and one cannot breathe properly when the figure is restricted.
About two years ago a New York newspaper held a beauty contest in which professional girls as well as amateurs were eligible. This is unusual, as a professional is nearly always barred from participation in beauty contests.
Some of the artists for whom I was posing suggested that I enter the contest and I sent in my picture. Imagine my pleasure when the contest was over and I emerged the proud winner. This honor carried with it a three months’ course in dancing. I accepted this offer, as I realized dancing would be a splendid exercise for me. It helped me to take poses that before I was unable to take.
AFTER the course was ended, I continued my dancing routine, which consists of splits, back-bends, stretching, high kicks, somersaults both forward and backward, rolling over and work on the trapeze, besides many dancing steps and some tap dancing. Dancing is one of the best of all exercises for keeping fit. It builds strong muscles and bones.
I do not smoke. I do not drink. I live moderately and simply. I walk several miles each day, always to and from the studios when time permits. At least thirty minutes before breakfast I drink a glass of hot water. Breakfast consists of a dish of bran, milk, toast and either raw or cooked fruits. I do not drink coffee at any time. I drink milk with all my meals and through the day—probably three or four pints in all. I also drink that much water. For luncheon I always try to have at least one hot dish, soup or stew, a salad and a light dessert, and milk. I always include lettuce in both luncheon and dinner, and I eat plenty of greens. As I am exceedingly active, I have always eaten heartily, but have never weighed over one hundred and thirty-five pounds. I would not advocate as much food for one less active.
I USUALLY have a course dinner. A fruit or oyster cocktail, fish or meat, two cooked vegetables, a salad, dessert and milk. Always a piece of fresh fruit ends my dinner. Frequently I eliminate the meat, substituting vegetables. I eat as regularly as my work will permit. I used to rush through my meals, but I have learned that one must eat slowly to get the full benefit of food. Most of my meals are prepared in my own kitchenette.
My working hours are very irregular, consequently I get to bed at irregular hours, but no matter what time I retire, I get eight hours’ sleep. As my work is strenuous, I feel that I need this much rest. More than this, however, makes me dull. In winter I sleep in a very cold room with windows opened at both top and bottom. A hot bath in the morning, followed by a cold shower and a brisk alcohol rub-down is my routine. After the day’s work another shower is refreshing, but I never bathe immediately before retiring, as this keeps me awake. Unless I have retired late, I get up around nine o’clock and after exercising for fifteen minutes, take a twenty-minute walk. Then I return and rest a few minutes before breakfast. Many women ask me for my beauty aids. Shampoo your hair with warm water and pure Castile soap. Rinse thoroughly and to the last two quarts of cool water add half a lemon. Dry with warm towels and never allow the hair to stay damp overnight, nor comb it while it is wet. I never use curling irons, but let my hair fall in its natural waves. Each night I brush it briskly for fifteen minutes and once a month trim off about an inch. I use no bleaches, washes or dyes of any kind, having learned from artists that natural beauty is the only beauty. One cannot improve on nature’s color schemes. Of course, one can use to the best advantage what nature has given her, but she cannot improve her looks by changing her type. A brunette will bleach her hair red or blonde and may think it an improvement, but an artist detects sham at a glance, and he will tell you that each woman is a distinct type because of her coloring. A brunette with a fair complexion does not possess the same coloring as a blonde. Therefore she will look best with her hair its natural shade. The minute a girl dyes or bleaches her hair she robs it of the natural lights it once reflected.
I MANICURE my own finger-nails, and use no polishes but merely file and shape them and keep the cuticle well pushed back. At night I rub the nails with olive oil, which keeps them from cracking or becoming brittle. I wash my face quite often during the day with pure soap and warm weather and rub afterward with ice, followed by a dash of witch hazel to close the pores. I bathe my eyes at night and in the morning with warm boric acid. To promote the growth of my eyebrows and lashes I rub vaseline well into the roots.
Tennis, swimming, horseback riding and driving my car are my favorite exercises. But I am now also studying voice. My vocal lessons afford beneficial exercises.
A singer, you know, must possess good lungs and is nearly always healthy. Singing teaches proper breathing, and this is essential to good health.
For recreation I go to the movies. Mystery dramas or sea stories especially interest me, and I might easily become a movie fan if time permitted. Night clubs have no place in my life. They are crowded stuffy places, and the atmosphere is depressing.
My ambition is to travel. I want to see each country and to study it—not just a hurried tour, but residence for a time in different parts of the world. Especially I want to go to France and pose for the famous artists there. I desire deeply to be able to sing and play the piano beautifully.
Last, but most important of all, I want to make the man I love happy and to go through the years with him. My happiness will be complete in beholding this man living again in our children.
Associates… and your growth as an engineer
Do your associates stimulate your thinking? Are your managers receptive to your original ideas? At IBM, an engineer can answer these basic questions with an unqualified “yes.”
In IBM’s modern labs, engineers sense the professional excitement that stems from a continual interchange of original ideas. Their contributions—even on projects not specifically their own—receive sympathetic hearing from men whose management positions were attained by outstanding engineering achievement.
IBM’s world-wide reputation for digital computer design and development confirms our belief that a talented engineer should be actively encouraged to grow—without restrictions —to the fullest limit of his ability.If you have a degree in E.E., M.E., or Physics, or equivalent experience, find out what IBM’s tradition of engineering excellence can mean in terms of your own future growth and achievement. Write to Wm. M. Hoyt, Room 1103, International Business Machines Corp., 590 Madison Avenue, New York 22, N. Y.
IBM
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
“Mystery Plane” flaps Self to Pieces in Trial Flight
Built with flapping wings and bird-like body, this “American Eagle” plane collapsed before its inventor could get the novel machine off the ground!
THE mystery attached to the so-called “mystery airplane” built by James A. Crane of Ellsworth, Maine, seems to be— “Why doesn’t it fly?” Built with flapping wings designed to lift it straight up into the air, the strange plane collapsed a few minutes after its motor was started up. The inventor, however, was undaunted. He expects to rebuild his plane, which he calls the “American Eagle,” substituting metal wings for the wooden ones which the first test proved to be too flimsy. The cranking arrangement by which the wings were flapped is clearly shown in the above photographs.
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